(ETUI) An Elusive Target: The EU Perspective of the Western Balkans

A Selection of 17 Years of SEER
1. Auflage 2016
ISBN: 978-3-8452-7218-4
Verlag: Nomos
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 259 Seiten, Format (B × H): 153 mm x 227 mm

The articles in this collection are full of ideas on how to define a better way of securing and delivering the integration of south-east Europe into the EU.
The EU needs to do much more to drive the integration process on and to ensure that south-east Europe has credible membership prospects sufficient to achieve meaningful reforms and progress in the countries of the region. The events in Bosnia in spring 2014 – riots and occupations, frustration and anger, but also debate and engagement – show that there remain sizeable gaps in this process, for which the EU, as the leading power broker, must take responsibility. The EU is currently failing south-east Europe – and it must try a different tack if it is to accept those responsibilities and to ensure that south-east European countries are to be welcomed fully into our common European home. A new impetus towards Europeanisation is urgently needed.
In the meantime, a process of enlargement that is open-ended and that has no pre-determined outcomes will remain one that is prolonged, and, furthermore, the fear remains that this may well turn out to be one that indeed has no actual outcome. The costs of that growing instability in Europe’s south-east, a region not just integrally bound to Europe but one which is part of its geographical and historical heart, are likely to be significant.

Autoren/Hrsg.

(ETUI), European Trade Union Institute

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Internationale Beziehungen Europäische Union, Europapolitik
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Internationale Beziehungen Geopolitik
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Regierungspolitik Außenpolitik
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Zeitschriften, Periodika, Abstracts, Indizes
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Studien zu einzelnen Ländern und Gebieten

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Cover;1
2; Review essay: Souvenirs of the post-crisis politicsWith grateful thanks to Thomas Allen for comments on an earlier draft.;8
2.1; Introduction;8
2.2; 'Top-down' and 'bottom-up': accounting for the failures of a vision for ‘Europeanisation’;11
2.3; Crises and reactions;15
2.4; Competing priorities;20
2.5; Reform within the EU;23
2.6; The faces of south-east Europe in response to the crises of Europe;25
2.7; Conclusion;28
3; EUROPE – QUO VADIS?;30
3.1; Introduction;30
3.2; The opportunity comes too late;30
3.3; EU agricultural policy under fire;31
3.4; Competition a bottleneck to entry;32
3.5; Administrative reform the Achilles' heel;33
3.6; Euro-scenarios;34
3.7; European Economic Area politically obsolete;35
3.8; Conclusion;35
4; No stability without democracy, economic reform and social progress – Remarks on the policy of the ETUC and the Stability Pact for South-East Europe;36
4.1; Reactions and resolutions of the ETUC regarding the Stability Pact – laying the basis for practical trade union politics;37
4.2; The participation of trade unions in the Stability Pact;39
4.3; Trade unions in the region: improving the responsibility of co-operation;40
5; EU: The costs and benefits of enlargement and accession – some policy responses for before and after;42
5.1; 1. Why this enlargement is special;42
5.2; 2. Costs and benefits, winners and losers;43
5.3; 3. Growth potential and labour markets;47
5.4; 4. The challenges of building social partnership in the run-up to accession;50
5.5; 5. Policy instruments at hand;55
6; South-east Europe’s EU integration: Dreams and realities;60
6.1; Introduction;60
6.2; The enlargement process;61
6.3; The advantages of European enlargement;63
6.4; Challenges towards south-eastern enlargement;64
6.4.1; Towards a Stabilisation and Association Agreement;65
6.4.2; Negotiating and implementing the Stabilisation and Association Agreements;65
6.4.3; Assistance;65
6.5; EU-Balkan perceptions;66
6.6; Unresolved political questions – Kosova’s status and EU integration;68
6.7; Integration processes within south-east Europe;69
6.8; Regional co-operation;70
6.9; Inter-ethnic reconciliation as a means for European integration;71
6.10; Conclusions;72
7; The next Europe: South-eastern Europe after Thessaloniki;74
7.1; The Balkans 2003;74
7.2; Thessaloniki, June 2003;75
7.3; The European agenda;77
7.4; Key recommendations;79
7.4.1; European agenda;79
7.4.2; Macroeconomic deficits and regional instability;80
7.4.3; Functional co-operation;80
7.5; Conclusion;81
8; Rethinking south-eastern Europe through a pan-European perspective;82
8.1; Introduction;82
8.2; South-eastern Europe at a glance;82
8.2.1; Main regional trends;82
8.2.2; European integration process;84
8.3; Perspectives on a pan-European approach;88
8.3.1; The necessity of a comprehensive framework;88
8.3.2; South-eastern Europe’s key challenge;90
8.4; The fate of regional initiatives in south-east Europe;92
8.5; Conclusion;95
9; The process of EU enlargement towards south-eastern Europe: current challenges and perspectives;98
9.1; Introduction;98
9.2; The enlargement process;98
9.3; The post-Cold War era;100
9.3.1; Towards a Stabilisation and Association Agreement;101
9.3.2; Negotiating and implementing Stabilisation and Association Agreements;101
9.3.3; Assistance;101
9.4; EU-Balkan perceptions;102
9.5; One of the unresolved political questions;104
9.6; Regional co-operation and the new CEFTA;105
10; The European Union and the western Balkans;108
10.1; Introduction;108
10.2; The dark sides of the Balkans – some western clichés;109
10.3; The destruction of Yugoslavia;110
10.4; European unity progress at war?;112
10.5; The EU between globalisation and fragmentation;117
10.6; The approach of the EU;118
10.7; Stabilising the Balkans – the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe;120
10.8; The Stability Pact at the micro level – the example of Bosnia and Herzegovina;122
10.9; Fighting corruption;123
10.10; Serbia and Montenegro – the EU as honest broker?;124
10.11; Epilogue;125
11; The long and winding road;130
11.1; The broader picture – the SEE levels;130
11.2; From Thessaloniki to Lisbon – the lost momentum;132
11.3; Imbalance between the technical and political levels;136
11.4; From Lisbon onwards;138
11.5; What should be done need not wait;140
12; When the EU met the western Balkans: Ready for the wedding?;144
12.1; Introduction;144
12.2; Europeanisation hand-in-hand with enlargement: a literature review;144
12.3; Case study: western Balkans;148
12.3.1; Albania (COM(2010)680; SEC(2010)1335; MEMO/10/553);149
12.3.2; Bosnia and Herzegovina (SEC(2010)1331; MEMO/10/557; COM(2010)660 final);150
12.3.3; Croatia (COM(2010)660 final; MEMO/10/558; SEC(2010)1326);151
12.3.4; Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYRoM) (COM(2010)660 final; MEMO/10/556; SEC(2010)1332);152
12.3.5; Montenegro (COM(2010)670; MEMO/10/552; SEC(2010)1334);153
12.3.6; Kosovo (COM(2010)660 final; MEMO/10/554; SEC(2010)1329);155
12.3.7; Serbia (COM(2010)660 final; MEMO/10/560; SEC(2010)1330);156
12.3.8; Sub-case study: Croatia vs. Kosovo;157
12.4; Conclusions;158
13; The global financial crisis and the post-Lisbon prospects of enlargement;166
13.1; 1. Introduction;166
13.2; 2. The broader context;166
13.3; 3. Principal challenges and prospects of further enlargement;167
13.4; 4. Economic growth and unemployment rates;168
13.5; 5. Areas to be revived: enterprise reforms and foreign investment;174
13.6; 6. Challenges related to the rule of law: corruption and organised crime;175
13.6.1; 6.1 Corruption;175
13.6.2; 6.2 Organised crime;179
13.6.3; 6.3 Recommended policy directions;181
13.7; 7. Solutions and recommendations;183
14; Lobbying for a faster integration track for the western Balkans region;188
14.1; Introduction;188
14.2; Western Balkans region and the enlargement dynamic;189
14.3; The regional picture: lobbying for a faster integration track for the region as a whole;193
14.4; The ‘regatta’: lobbying for a faster integration track based on the ‘own-merit’ approach;194
14.5; The importance of lobbying;195
14.6; Concluding remarks;196
15; The EU: Breaking the chains of weariness;200
15.1; The EU: with divides or flexibility?;200
15.2; Breaking the chains of weariness: a new EU in a new world order;203
15.3; Enlargement: wider or/and deeper?;206
15.4; Enlargement: who, when and how;208
15.4.1; Who;208
15.4.2; When;209
15.4.3; How not;210
15.4.4; So how?;211
16; The common challenges of south-east European countries in the process of European integration;214
16.1; Introduction;214
16.2; Background;215
16.3; Major issues and challenges;217
16.3.1; Civil and political instability;217
16.3.2; Low levels of economic development;217
16.3.3; Shifts in the priorities of foreign policy as well as shrinking aid;218
16.3.4; The debate on enlargement;218
16.4; The importance of collaboration and co-ordination within the Balkans region for countries’ futures in the European Union;218
16.5; Conclusion;219
17; A ‘Europe of multiple speed’ in a downward spiral;222
17.1; Introduction;222
17.2; Divergent developments in pre-crisis Europe;223
17.2.1; Wage developments in central and eastern Europe prior to the crisis;224
17.2.1.1; The main trends in wage developments in CEE of the past decade;224
17.2.2; The 2009 crisis and central and east European economies;226
17.2.3; The 2010-2012 crisis in the Eurozone;227
17.2.4; Why central and east European countries are different to the Mediterranean countries most hit by the Eurozone crisis;228
17.2.5; Lessons from the Eurozone crisis for central and eastern Europe;228
17.3; Conclusions;231
18; An end to the lies and self-deception: Scenarios for the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina;234
18.1; Introduction;234
18.2; The breaking away of Republika Srpska;234
18.3; Two subsequent scenarios;238
19; Trade unions and the fall of Yugoslavia – the potential and the limitations;244
19.1; At the start of the war – no chance of stopping it;244
19.2; Dialogue and relations during the war;247
19.3; Promoting bilateral relations between ETUC affiliates and Yugoslav trade unions;248
19.4; Democracy – a precondition for a lasting peace;248
19.5; 1995: ‘Trade union bridge in Mostar’;249
19.6; Meeting with Jacques Delors and Tadeusz Mazowiecki;250
19.7; After Dayton: establishing new relations and promoting dialogue;250
19.8; KSBiH: One confederation for Bosnia-Herzegovina;252
19.9; Serbia: trade unions at the heart of the conflict;253
19.10; Kosovo – the other war;255
19.11; Solidarnost – a regional platform of trade union co-operation;256
19.12; Regional reconnection;256
19.13; What is urgent now?;257
20; About the Authors;258